World Chambers Competition

 

 

 

 

Best unconventional project

Chamber of Commerce of Pereira

Colombia

WINNER

1. Briefly, describe how your project originated. How did the idea come about, what needs were identified and why?

On a national level, the city of Pereira had been a pride for the nation. It was a city characterized by great virtues: its civility and the strength of its people, that have been demonstrated by thousands of Pereirans that 70 years ago decided to build that land with pick and shovel, people that were committed to the task of building with their own hands the great infrastructure projects that today are the symbol of that civility. Infrastructure projects such as the most important hospital in that city were achieved when, in 1942, a few women got together and developed a beauty pageant called “The Charity Pageant”, in which the candidate who gathered the largest amount of money, would be the winner. The entire city united in favor of this cause that resulted in 100% of the resources needed for the construction of San Jorge University Hospital. Likewise, in 1943, with the desire of magnifying the city and erasing the commercial barriers forever, Pereirans got together again, and with pick and shovel in their hands, gathering stones from the closest river, built the Matecaña Airport, the only international airport in Colombia that belongs to a local government instead of the national government, and that allowed tourist and businessmen from different parts of the world, to arrive to Pereira (http://www.aeromate.gov.co/new_site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=41&Itemid=19). After this, the largest civic achievement that Colombia had ever seen until then took place. It was in 1963, when in Pereira, locals decided to nominate the city to host the National Games, and facing the difficulty from the national government to provide resources, more than 50,000 pereirans, among which there were children, women, senior citizens, started to weed the fields, selling “empanadas” and tamales, organizing bingos and parades. Just like that, they were able to gather all the resources needed for the construction of the Sports Complex “Villa Olímpica”, in which all pereirans put up enormous efforts and dedication for more that 10 years for its culmination (http://corpodeportiva.com/corpdep/historia.html). Nevertheless, over the years and with the city’s overwhelming growth, that sense of unity and collectiveness BEGAN TO EXTINGUISH, its fury started to fade among the generations that followed, transforming Pereira, the city “with no strangers, we are all pereirans”, in a quiet and calmed city. Pereira went from unity to absolute indifference. The elderly, the ones that participated in the previously described deeds, used to say: “Today, what happens in the city is the total opposite to is saying. Today it seems that in Pereira no one is pereiran, we are all strangers.” This indifference, in addition to the negative news in every local and national media, contributes to a massive loss of the civility and sense of belonging that once characterized pereirans. Fifty years later, the Chamber of Commerce of Pereira, under the leadership of its Executive President, Mauricio Vega Lemus, set the goal of creating a campaign that could

achieve something that had been only achieved many years ago in Pereira: regaining the title of the Civic City of Colombia, with the purpose of gathering the funds necessary ($22 billion Colombian Pesos) to build the most important Convention Center of the region, through the civility that had once characterized pereirans. The objectives of the project were clear:

• To gather $22 billion Colombia Pesos in contributions for the construction of the Pereira’s Convention Center, according to the budget presented for the project.

• To improve the country’s perception of Pereira, which had been affected by the negative facts, published in national media, with at least 100 positive news published both locally and nationally.

• To get political leaders, traditional and powerful families, and citizens in general, to talk positively about their city, and to make them feel identified with a campaign of social responsibility that revives the civic spirit that had been extinguished for more that two generations. All of that, around one specific goal: to build the best Convention Center, one that will bring prosperity to the city in every socioeconomic level.

The Chamber of Commerce of Pereira shared this challenge with a local creative agency, CPC Agency, that took this project in their own hands, as if it were their own, and began to work together towards a common goal: to revive in the midst of the 21st century, the public spirit and civility that characterized pereirans more than 68 years ago (solidary construction of the local airport, hospital, sports complex, cathedral and tramway), replicating the historic COMMUNITY DEED for the construction of the best convention center of the region. 2. Describe your project based on the category selected. (Context, innovative character, invested resources, difficulties met.) Pereira, capital city of the state of Risaralda, is a medium sized city located in Colombia - Latin America that has demonstrated to be dynamic and vital in terms of economic and social development through a huge commitment of society towards the quality of life. It is located in the region recognized by Unesco as a Cultural Humanity Heritage for its Cultural Coffee Landscape, right in the middle of Colombia’s three main cities (Bogotá, Medellín y Cali), being the center of a territory that represents 56% of the population and 66% of the national GDP. The geographic and strategic location of the region, as well as its physical and economic dimensions have acted as inputs for the city to develop projects with the objective to position itself in the national context and more recently even in the international context. The leadership of its citizens leads Pereira to permanent dynamics of projection towards new horizons and economic vocations. Therefore, in the recent years, the city has achieved an interesting diversification on economic sectors by planning and implementing programs that have strengthen its vocation on traditional sectors such as coffee, clothing and commerce; that have explored and initiated vocations on promissory sectors such as biotechnology, logistics and IT; and that have consolidated new economical development realities in sectors like the metallurgic industries, the agroindustry and the tourism.

However, in spite of the efforts of the different agents of development, in the 1990s, the coffee region experienced a marked economic crisis as a result of the loss of the dynamics that until then had characterized the coffee sector. This economic crisis was deeply increased due to two strong earthquakes that caused big damages on the region in the years 1995 and 1999. As a consequence, the years that overcame this crisis resulted on slow socioeconomic indicators for the region in comparison with other territories, especially in relation to the fluctuating unemployment rates that at the beginning of the decade came up to 23%, as well as negative poverty indicators. Fortunately, through a new planning process, it was possible to find great potential in the development of a new economic vocation based on MICE tourism industry, identifying it could be strong enough to positively impact the quality of life of the region and improve social and economic indicators. This strategy helped the region to reverse trends and generate a new dynamic to recover its historical value that was once one of the main supports of the socio-economic development of the country thanks, in large part, to the dynamics of coffee activity, commerce and clothing. In this way, the new development strategies have recently shown excellent results with a positive impact on the quality of life through the generation of employment, promotion of entrepreneurship, creation of new companies, attraction of foreign investment, productive linkages, among others. Indeed, thanks to the strategies adopted, unemployment rates decreased to almost 10% and poverty indicators are also improved in the city. These has a direct impact on the competitiveness of the state of Risaralda according to the Departmental Competitiveness Index prepared by the Private Competitiveness Council (2016-2017) based on the methodology of the World Economic Forum, which in its most recent measurement places Risaralda it in the top 5 of the most competitive departments of Colombia. One of the most solid strategies that contributed to the improvement of the conditions of the territory was the consolidation of the city marketing led by the Chamber of Commerce of Pereira, having as one of its pillars the MICE tourism industry. Thus, these is the context for the birth of Pereira Convention Center - EXPOFUTURO, within a civic campaign that claimed for the public spirit of people and was implemented since 2012, as described below. This campaign motivated the active participation of more than 8.000 people and firms and served as a means to gather the public and private efforts toward one common objective. The Pereira Convention Center - EXPOFUTURO, opened its doors on February 1 of 2017, as a public interest asset that contributes to the internationalization, the positioning and the competitiveness of the entire western region of the Colombia. We decided to understand the behavior of our Pereiran people. We analyzed their sociological and psychological features, which allowed us to comprehend their public spirit. We found that Pereiran people are extremely kind, helpful, persistent and united (inherited features product of the colonization led by the Antioqueños, people from Medellin, in the pasts centuries). These findings inspired us to think in a campaign able to touch the heartstrings of each citizen. A campaign that would enable us to tell our story as well as to write a new one, following a goal: fundraising for the construction of Pereira´s Convention

Centre. We wanted not only to make our citizens aware of the importance of this cause, but also all Colombian people, through the media. We identified the main characteristics of Pereira´s story of construction. We found that in last century fundraisings, citizens donated bricks to build the public equipment of the city. This is the reason why we decided to focus on the brick as the campaign’s main element. In the same way, we invented a beautiful slogan: “Put your first brick” (Pon Tu Primer Ladrillo). We focused the message on three main factors: first, making Pereiran people aware of their public spirit story and what their grandparents did for the city years ago; second, assuring national and regional media to focus on Pereira as an outstanding city of the country; and third, collecting the necessary amount of money for the construction of Pereira´s Convention Center. The campaign was lead in three main faces: teaser, launching, and finally, promotion. Teaser: we sent a real brick with an invitation card to thousands of managers, executives, businessmen, families, politicians, public authorities, mass media etc. The card said: “more than 68 years ago, hundreds of Pereiran people built what today is a public spirit emblem. We are pleased to invite you to the XXI century new fundraising, in order to live once again the public spirit that has characterized us”. We made a special and unique invitation in order to reach our target public in a different way, hoping to get them deeply involved in the campaign. If you impact people from the beginning, it would be easier to win their loyalty. Launching: after sending the brick invitation, we had a unique launching. We joint all the main society actors and relived the public spirit of those who took part of fundraisings some years ago. Launching comprised two big events: a press conference and an awareness showroom. By the end, we made a traditional fundraising. For the press conference, we had more than 50 national and regional journalists. In the showroom, we presented the campaign in a really dynamic way, showing the campaign’s video, which attempted to make people aware of the importance to relive public spirit. Finally, we invited people to eat traditional food (empanadas and hot chocolate) to relive the way our predecessors made fundraising. Making public administration as well as families of Pereira aware of public spirit was the main step to have a successful campaign. The leaders of the city supported the campaign with great amounts of money. The government entities also joined the campaign and promoted it through buzz marketing. Promotion: Once we shared this challenge to the main leaders in the city, and got their social approval, we needed to take the message everywhere throughout the city, even to the most distant places, so that all 440,000 pereirans, and the 1,000,000 people of floating population heard about this great campaign that intended to transform the city. We needed to engage all citizens in this project, and for doing so; we put up a very ambitious and arduous communication task that extender for 5 months. A complete web site was built (www.elprimerladrillo.com), where all the information around the project was shared: El Primer Ladrillo, the Convention Center, and the contributors. It also facilitated tools such as online paying methods, downloadable communication

material and an application used for letting pereirans leave a message and donating their Facebook status and Tweets, to tell everyone what was being done for the city. 17-meter-long horizontal banners were installed in nine (9) pedestrian bridges throughout the city, inviting everyone to learn more about El Primer Ladrillo through the website. A giant banner was installed in the 15-story-building where the Chamber of Commerce operates in downtown Pereira. We put up six (6) billboards and eight (8) muppies for 5 months. More than 1,800 radio commercials where broadcasted with the campaign’s jingle, and once a week we were able to talk to the society through all Caracol Radio broadcasting signals about the project’s progress. We had around 180 spots broadcasted in regional television. This media diffusion allowed us to reach all socioeconomic levels in the city. Several alliances were made with different media in order to have 150 notes published in regional journals. We had ads in several magazines that were aimed at different niches such as businessmen and women, social, youth interests, and even children magazines distributed through both public and private high schools. The taxicab drivers’ labor union gathered around the campaign as well, and we put up more than 500 signs in taxicabs with information about the project. The main business and sectorial associations in the city transferred their databases so that we could send information to their associates, reaching more than 500,000 people among all associations. We also participated in massive events in the city, telling everyone about the campaign that was taking place: Construction Trade Show (14,656 assistants), Heath & Wellness Trade Show (11,567 assistants), Expocamello Entrepreneurial Exhibit (9,678 assistants) and Eje Exports Trade Show (3,459 assistants). In all these events we gave away promotional bracelets with the image of El Primer Ladrillo, in order to generate civic appropriation in the community. Additional to mass media, we visited around 10 large companies where all the employees were gathered (in average 800 employees per company) around a conference about public spirit and civility where they were asked their voluntary contribution of one day of work. The invested resources represented 1,8% ($424 million) of total resources gathered by this project:

• Launching Event and Press Conference: $20 million • Follow-up on Donations: $27 million • Promotional Material: $34 million • Media Coverage: $343 million

The reception of the message exceeded by far all the expectations, up to the point that we had to hire additional people to attend the more than 900 meetings that businessmen, families, and general public requested through the project’s website, the Chamber of Commerce’s and CPC Agency’s phone lines, and institutional e-mails of all collaborators, in order to have first-hand information about how could people participate with their donations.

3. What have been the results and influence of this project? (Short and long term impact, measurable data, and benefits.) This convention center complemented the infrastructure for corporate tourism that the Chamber of Commerce delivered to the city through initial scenarios in 2001 and since then have been since its inception an important engine that has boosted the economic development of the city and its environment, becoming from the beginning the meeting point between the products and services of the region and its national and international demand. Its position has been growing steadily, as well as its occupation, which is a reflection of the important service it provides to the city, region and country. More and more events and more events are happening in the area, as well as the new events that arrive in Pereira, and because of this, the characteristics that are sought in the infrastructure offered by the fair and the city for large format events, with world-class quality standards. The articulation of efforts around the Pereira Convention Center EXPOFUTURO, is based on the understanding that the MICE tourism, within the framework of the declaration of the Coffee Cultural Landscape as a Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO, is one of the most important economic activities to be consolidated in Pereira and the region due to the multiplier effect it has on other economic sectors, by strengthening productive chains, generating growth in regional GDP and becoming a source of employment. Therefore, within this structural development strategy, the Pereira Convention Center was prioritized by the national and local government as one of the most important projects for the region´s competitiveness, thus it was included in the National Development Plan. With regards to the specific objectives of the campaign, here are the results: Objective: To gather $22 billion Colombia Pesos in contributions for the construction of the Pereira’s Convention Center, according to the budget presented for the project. Result: $23,5 billion Colombian pesos were gathered through contributions for the construction of the Pereira´s Convention Center: $3 billion were donated by the Pereira´s Chamber of Commerce, $7 billion were given through the royalties department system, $3 billion were donated by the Mayor of Pereira, $4 billion were given by the Governor’s Office of Risaralda, $5 billion by the parliamentary Group of Risaralda (3 senators, 4 Chamber representatives) and $1,5 billions were finally donated by the citizens and entrepreneurs of the city. The goal was exceeded by10%. Objective: To improve the country’s perception of Pereira that had been affected by the negative facts published in national media, with at least 100 positive news published both locally and nationally. Result: Pereira appeared in more than 120 minutes live on TV in national and regional news broadcast and in more than 44 hours live on radio. More than 20 articles were published in regional newspapers in order to communicate the campaign and the awakening of the local public spirit. Finally, during the campaign more than 550 news releases were published on radio, TV and newspaper. The goal was exceeded in 300% and the campaign was recognized by Confecámaras for being the best initiative of the chambers of commerce of the country, in an event that took place in Pasto.

Objective: To get political leaders, traditional and powerful families, and citizens in general, to talk positively about their city, and to make them feel identified with a campaign of social responsibility that revives the civic spirit that had been extinguished for more that two generations. All of that, around one specific goal: to build the best Convention Center, one that will bring prosperity to the city in every socioeconomic level. Results: There are several recorded interviews with political leaders, members of the most important and influential families, and common citizens, talking about various positive aspects of the city, and especially about that drive that had always characterized pereirans. In all of those interviews, the commitment to this joint purpose of building Pereira’s Convention Center is the common denominator. More than 400 virtual bricks were gathered through which people shared messages to the city of Pereira; 98% of those messages mentioned positive aspects, and only 2% mentioned negative issues. The viral video was played for more 1,500 times (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jR_rYzrE-8&spfreload=5). Other relevant results:

• With the strategy of the direct mail, we were able to generate more than 100 tweets from journalists and leaders in the city, such as: “I just got a brick”, “And what am I supposed to do with this brick?”, “@camarapereira is sending bricks, what is this all about?”, “Let’s go @camarapereira with this #PrimerLadrillo”.

• During the press conference for the launching of the campaigns, we were expecting around 20 journalists. We exceeded this number by 250%. Likewise, we got news coverage from Noticias RCN, Noticias Caracol, La W, El Tiempo (printed), La República, and local newspapers.

• For the launching Show Room around 600 people were expected. We exceeded that number by 150%.

• More that 2,2 million impacts with the Facebook app “Virtual Brick”. We estimate that the message “El Primer Ladrillo” reached around 8,000,000 people thanks to the media display and coverage. Additionally, and more importantly, Pereira is becoming now an epicenter of MICE tourism, and Pereira’s Convention Center, added to other important projects in the city such as the modernization of Matecaña International Airport ($88 billion COP), and the construction of Ukumari’s Theme Parks ($150 billion COP), strengthens the region’s capacity to attract tourism, investment, and certainly gives a very positive spirit to Pereirans around the city’s progress and the importance of civility. 4. Can your idea be applied in other parts of the world? (Please explain how and why.) This idea can be replicated in any part of the world, by any Chamber of Commerce or by a public or private entity that seeks to generate common and social appropriation and citizen participation for the development of those projects where common or public interest stands ahead particular needs.

Replication of the project requires willingness and creativity to motivate citizens to participate actively and decisively. It is also necessary to have the leadership of an entity that inspires transformations and generate confidence enough to achieve true social mobilizations towards a big common objective. It is also required that the project really attends the demands of development its region actually affords, facing global market challenges. This means that the project must be based upon territorial conditions and characteristics, it must be deeply planned and must provide a structural solution to a general or public challenge. The Chamber of Commerce of Pereira has been sharing its experience on this project by presenting it on different events such as the MICE National Congress and North America Advisory Summit (Ixtapa – México, 2016), the World’s Meetings Forums (Cancún -México, 2015), Ismael Cala’s program at CNN (EEUU, 2015), National Congress of Chambers of Commerce (Pasto – Colombia 2014), IMEX Frankfurt (Frankfurt – Alemania 2015). It has also won several awards in the advertising industry: FICE Awards - Gold in Effectiveness, Gold in Interactive Application, Silver in OnLine Interactivity - FIP Awards - Gold in Integrated Direct Marketing, Silver in Best Viral Marketing Campaign, Silver in Actions for Public Services, Tourism and Education. The experience has been recognized as “Expofuturo – A story to tell” and it has been published in several specialized media. The experience has also been documented as a case study in the MBA of Universidad Javeriana in Colombia for its impact in the region and it was presented also as a Destination Next case study by Intervistas, a company of Royal Haskoning DHV. The Chamber has also received several visits of delegations that have been interested in learning more about the strategy and how the construction of an infrastructure became such a powerful instrument to gather people and firms together, especially involving public and private efforts. In conclusion, the experience is available and it provides a very good model for emerging destinations to involve communities in the realization of great projects for public benefits. 5. Why do you feel your project should be selected among the finalists and presented at the 10th World Chambers Congress ? “El Primer Ladrillo” perfectly illustrates what the World Chambers Competition wants to reward as Best Unconventional Project: “This award will recognize those who have developed an exceptional project in an activity not typically associated with a chamber of commerce’s mission and objectives. The project must be inspirational and innovative, while demonstrating that it fulfilled specific needs and objectives of the chamber and its SME member community, in terms of creating jobs and strengthening their local economies. From environmental programmes, disaster relief, and migration programmes,

chambers continue to innovate and change the “status quo,” diversifying their image and reinforcing their relevance within their communities.” On the first hand, “El Primer Ladrillo” is definitely a project “not typically associated with a chamber of commerce’s mission and objectives”. Even though a Chamber of Commerce could support local projects that boost economic development and growth in a specific region, it is “not typical” for a Chamber to lead the project directly, engage in fundraising for making it a reality, appeal to the appropriation and participation of local community, oversee the construction and operation of a Convention Center, involve experts in communication (CPC Agency) for making this project viral, and obtaining the results it did. Additionally, it has been widely proven that “El Primer Ladrillo” was both “inspirational and innovative” since, it was built from an innovation perspective recalling the public spirit, lost for many years and many generations in Pereira and it was not only a campaign used to promote the construction of a building, that of course was important for the local development, it was a way to recall the history of the city, which was from its foundation built and cared by its own citizens. The campaign effected a positive change in the city moving people’s feelings and making them commit to the construction of the convention center. Older people revived their past, the younger ones made history. Also, the results of the project in terms of both the specific objectives set at the beginning of the campaign, and the general impact in the region’s economic growth and diversification, have been widely covered: $23,5 billion Colombian Pesos gathered, the construction and operation of de Convention Center, the participation of more than 8,000 people, the news and media coverage around positive messages about Pereira, the strengthening of the local infrastructure for attracting MICE industry to the region, are only a few reminders of the project’s impact. Finally, all the interviews, comments, social media interaction, media coverage and free press, showed how “El Primer Ladrillo” exemplifies how the Chamber of Commerce of Pereira was able to “change the status quo” by regaining trust, reviving public spirit, reminding all pereirans that nothing is impossible if they come together, by “reinforcing its relevance among the community”. 6. You may enclose a letter(s) of support which can attest to any measurable results and achievements of the project. The letters may be endorsed by a company, a chamber of commerce, an ICC national committee or a government agency. Summary of the Campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PMVOrf_lMo Inauguration of Pereira’s Convention Center: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJsB6OU7JPw Ismael Cala’s interview on CNN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us9tYH8xnAg Testimonials about local sensibilization: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aa5SAuKPmAY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ykrv_jrsS0E&list=UUImvF8bYTbN5JWvtWOD3YfA&index=6&feature=plcp http://www.latarde.com/opinion/columnistas/101943-ya-pusimos-el-primer-ladrillo-y-ahora https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dbwInNk-8o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfRyzjQbRF8 Carlos Vives’ Performance for “El Primer Ladrillo” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj6wkWXA7HQ News Coverage: - Noticias RCN: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P91p5-aH5wo&list=UUImvF8bYTbN5JWvtWOD3YfA&index=2&feature=plcp - Noticias Caracol: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBu4KkHfiSc&list=UUImvF8bYTbN5JWvtWOD3YfA&index=1&feature=plcp - Entrevista en la W: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFiBB7JFNVY&list=UUImvF8bYTbN5JWvtWOD3YfA&index=9&feature=plcp - El Tiempo http://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/eje-cafetero/centro-de-convenciones-de-pereira-pone-su-primer-ladrillo_12243051-4 News about the Launching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEGhTLhvJuc&list=UUImvF8bYTbN5JWvtWOD3YfA&index=12&feature=plcp http://www.latarde.com/sociales/galeria-101645-pereiranos-se-unieron-al-convite http://www.eldiario.com.co/seccion/OPINION/reavivando-la-pereiranidad120919.html http://www.latarde.com/noticias/economica/101639-como-en-los-viejos-tiempos http://www.latarde.com/noticias/economica/101581-luego-de-68-anos-otro-convite-pereirano http://www.eldiario.com.co/seccion/LOCAL/a-revivir-el-civismo-de-los-pereiranos120919.html http://www.camarapereira.org.co/es/ieventos/ver/1060/el_jueves_20_el_primer_convite_del_siglo_xxi/ http://blog.utp.edu.co/conocimientorisaralda/2012/09/18/pon-el-primer-ladrillo/ http://www.latarde.com/opinion/columnistas/101943-ya-pusimos-el-primer-ladrillo-y-ahora https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEGhTLhvJuc http://www.eldiario.com.co/seccion/ECONOMICA/el-primer-ladrillo-ya-est-puesto120921.html Other Sources: http://www.eldiario.com.co/seccion/ECONOMICA/el-primer-ladrillo-ser-expuesto-en-encuentro-nacional-de-c-maras121122.html http://www.camarapereira.org.co/es/ieventos/ver/1117/el_concejo_pone_su_primer_ladrillo/ http://www.camaramedellin.com.co/site/Noticias/Camaras-del-pais-se-reuniran-en-Pasto-este-viernes.aspx